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Vampires
Vampires are creatures of the night, risen from the grave to feed upon the blood of the living. Their origin dates back to the time before history, when man first huddled around fires and hid in caves to escape the monsters in the dark. Many stories and tales surround the creatures, many fictitious, and many grounded in truth. The wide variety of tales of vampires is due to the diversity within the species itself. There are multiple clans of vampires, each with their own traits, powers, and unique weaknesses. However, despite their differences, they do all share certain commonalities. Variations Vampires all share common characteristics, but depending on their vampiric ancestors, they possess a few differing traits. These often include talent for different praxises. The largest groups are known as clans, which can be further divided into subgroups known as bloodlines. Legrue The Legrue are the clan of beasts, gifted in the praxises of Proceus, Natomacy, and Discenation. They are known to live in the wilds, preying predominantly on animals. They are bound to the cycles of the moon, becoming more unstable the fuller it waxes, as they find it harder to maintain both their human thought and their human form. Nergali The Nergali are one of the most feared vampiric clans, possessing talents for Korpulessence, Constancie, and Proceus. They are mistrusted by other vampires due to their tendency to use their set of praxises to mold various creatures into horrific monstrosities, using them as slaves and warbeasts. They are cursed with beasts being repelled by their presence, and being nearby most animals will cause them to become aggressive or panicked, unless they are calmed with Proceus. Veismar The clan of warriors, the Veismar specialize in the three physical praises, Constancie, Robustes, and Velocitude. Their founders lust for battle, however, has endowed them with fierce tempers, and they are easily enraged. Thusly, it is customary for members of the clan to undergo rigorous mental training in order to keep themselves from constantly succumbing to their rage. Jaguari The Jaguari are a bloodline of the Veismar clan, mostly located within Central and South America. Instead of Constancie, they possess proficiency in the Aura praxis. Physiology Physical Characteristics Vampires, due to their status as undead predators, physically differ from humans in a number of ways. In addition to lack of vital signs, such as a heartbeat, body heat, and brain waves, all vampires are possessed of some form of sharpened teeth in order to assist them in feeding on blood. There are often variations, such as the number of fang sets, and their location. In addition, the vast majority of clans undergo some sort of facial transformation when experiencing bouts of aggression, fear, or when feeding. This can include anything from the eyes turning pure black, the sclera reddening, or the partial deformation of facial features. An addition, a number of clans are able to transform their fingernails into claws. The Thirst All vampires are afflicted with a desire and need to consume the blood of living creatures, which is collectively known as the Thirst. They are unable to digest human food or drink, and can at most store it within their stomachs for a few hours before vomiting it up. Instead the Children of the Night are forced to rely on blood for sustenance, stealing the life force which they no longer possess. It temporarily sates the Thirst, and fuels their unnatural powers, granting them enhanced physical prowess and the unique powers of their clan. Feeding is euphoric for vampires, as life floods their bodies, and they experience the memories and sensations of their prey. The more blood they drain, the more memories they acquire, reminding them of life once more. Due to the various possible mental states of their victims, many vampires often prefer the feel of blood from certain people, be it grizzled soldiers or snobby scholars. Furthermore, many also choose different methods of feeding to elicit different emotions from their prey so the blood is charged with their preferred taste, be it of fear, rage, or ecstasy. The Second Life Vampires are dead, with the state they exist in being known as the Second Life. No matter their clan, all vampires lack a heartbeat, a pulse, and the flow of blood. They have no need for oxygen, and do not feel pain as mortals do. They do not experience discomfort in temperature extremes, tight spaces, or from remaining in one position for too long. Appearing alive requires conscious effort, willing the heart to beat, the blood to flow, for breath to enter and leave the lungs. The ability to utilize ones blood to simulate life is known as The Vital Touch. Age Categories Depending how long they have existed as undead, vampires will be placed into several classifications that denote their traits. Fledglings Fledglings have been vampires for less than a year. Still adjusting to their new existence, they are prone to sudden mood swings and violent outbursts, as well as having an incredibly difficult time controlling their lust for blood. They are very difficult to distinguish from ordinary humans in their mannerisms and movement, due to the fact that they instinctively utilize the Vital Touch nearly constantly. Neophyte Neophytes are vampires who are less than a hundred years of age, and have completed their first year as a vampire, no longer being prone to the erratic mood swings of a fledgling. Dolescii Dolescii are between the ages of one and three centuries. At this point in their existence, the usage of the Vital Touch is no longer reflexive, and vampires will have to consciously will themselves to breathe and for blood to move through their bodies. Maiori Maiori, commonly known as elders, are vampires over three centuries of age, but younger than a thousand years. They are generally known to be odd in their movements, very rarely blinking and moving with unnatural precision. Venebrate Venebrates are vampires over a millennium in age, where they enter a stage of existence that will last some further two millennia. Many of bodily movements normally seen in humans, such as blinking or fidgeting, are not present in Venebrates, who are often characterized as being unnaturally still and statuesque. At their age, they begin to feel the urge to enter slumber, which may fought off for centuries. However, the longer they fight off entering slumber, the longer their slumber will be when they finally do enter it. Mortal blood begins to loose its savor, meaning it takes greater and greater amounts to satiate their hunger. Archon Archons are tremendously ancient vampires, three millennia in age or more. They spend the vast majority of their existence sleeping, and are characterized by the fact that mortal blood does not properly sustain them any longer, and they must feed from other supernatural beings. The Change Vampiric blood prevents procreation by ordinary means. Vampires are infertile creatures, forcing them to reproduce by a process known as the Change. The creation of a new vampire involves a mortal being drained of the vampiric Maker until the point of death. Then, with their Progeny's blood flowing through them, the Maker deposits a small amount of their own blood into the corpse. The corpse will then rise the following morning, in a painful Transition. Sickness, including vomiting and volatile bowel movement will occur, along with headaches, stomach cramps, and fever. Physical changes, depending on the clan, will also occur. Most prominently, the Transitioning Progeny will begin to experience extreme hunger and thirst, which no food or drink can satisfy. As the day wears on, their temporarily restored life will begin to wane, as their heartbeat slows, and their pulse weakens. As night falls, they will finish with their final changes, their fangs developing as the Thirst becomes maddening. Typically, their Maker will locate them during this time, using the psychic link formed between them, and give them their first taste of blood. Upon its ingestion, the Progeny will fully die, their heart stopping, as they gain full access to all their powers and bear their weaknesses. Nocturnal Nature Vampires all share the commonality of being nocturnal creatures. They are active entirely during the night, where they are fully alert and function at their peak capacity. They spend the daylight hours in slumber, where they are indistinguishable from corpses, and are highly vulnerable. While it is possible to rouse them during the day, the vampire will be slow and sluggish of both thought and movement. This vulnerability is the primary reason why they employ familiars. The Anima The blood of a vampire is everything to them. Their blood sustains their Second Life, fuels their supernatural abilities, and drives their hunger. Among vampires, it is known as the Anima, and through its manipulation, many powerful abilities can be achieved. Most basically, it fuels the physical prowess of a vampire, allowing them to overpower and hunt down their prey. On a deeper level, it allows for the creation of Progeny, and can sustain a psychic bond between vampires known as the Patridae. Furthermore, it can be used to create Familiars, humans who are given periodic infusions of Anima to forge a lesser version of the Patridae and enhance their physical prowess, in order to serve their masters as daylight guards and messengers. The Patridae The magic within a vampire's blood is capable of forming mental links between vampires who share it. This bond is known as a Patridae, or blood bond and is formed when a vampire has the blood of another in their system. For this reason, a Patridae always exists between a Maker and Progeny, though its strength has a great deal of variation. Patridae can also be created by a vampire drinking the blood of another on a regular basis, giving the vampire whose blood is being consumed power over the one consuming it. The strength of the Patridae is dependent on the amount and frequency of blood the subservient vampire consumes. If blood consumption ceases, the bond will begin to gradually weaken, and if the vampires are not related by bloodline, end entirely. Patridae can be used by the vampires for a variety of purposes. With a potent enough bond, the dominant vampire can at will summon the lesser one to their location with a psychic call, forcing them to travel towards them immediately. It is possible to do this in reverse, but it the dominant vampire can choose to ignore the call if they so desire. It is also possible to send each other visions and sense each other's emotions, though the dominant vampire is able to block out the transmissions at will. Most importantly, the submissive vampire will be filled with a desire to serve the will of the dominant one, and if the bond is powerful enough, can be forced to take actions against their own wishes. Depending on one's age, lineage, and power, the Patridae can extend for multiple generations, allowing a powerful vampire to exert influence over their vampiric grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Those who are truly mighty, such as the clan founders and those who began bloodlines, have such potent Patridaeic abilities that their will has the ability to influence the traits of their descendants, giving them certain physical characteristics or altering their natural powers. Generation A vampire's potential power is determined by their generation, which is a marker of how distant their bloodline is from the original vampire. Each vampire subjected to the Change is one generation higher than their Maker, with each generation possessing substantially less potential power then the one previously. The only way to lower one's generation is through Intenebration, where a vampire drains all the blood from another (it should be noted that exsanguination normally is not fatal), and thereby devours their soul and absorbs their essence into themselves. The Prime Vampire The Prime Vampire is the progenitor of the entire race, the source of vampirism, and the most powerful member of the species. It is said to have been imprisoned by ancient Ascendants and its own Progeny, where it slumbers eternally, seething in anger at its betrayal. Its age and name are unknown to most living beings in the present day. The Firstborn The Firstborn, or the first generation, are the Progeny of the Prime Vampire. They, along with their own offspring, are believed to have assisted the Ascendants in sealing away their Maker, and were in turn cursed for their misdeeds, and betrayed by their own offspring. Most are believed to have been exterminated by the second generation, but rumors persist that they are hidden away, slumbering. The Second Generation Turned by the Firstborn, the second generation assisted their Makers in the betrayal of the Prime Vampire, and thusly, were cursed for their betrayal. They are then said to have in turn betrayed the Firstborn, in an attempt to alleviate their own curses, to no avail. The original members of the second generation came into being well over ten millennia ago, and founded the present day clans, passing down their curses and praxises. From the few times throughout history they have woken from their long slumbers, they have demonstrated horrific, godlike power. The Third Generation The spawn of the clan founders, the third generation make up most of the foundations of the various clan bloodlines. Their powers are nearly as deific as those of their Makers, with most of them being Archons between four and nine millennia in age. The Fourth Generation Members of the fourth generation are vampiric demigods, with quite a number of them having been known to found bloodlines of their own. Most of them are archons between three and six millennia of age. The Fifth Generation The last generation with power capable of spawning bloodlines, fifth generation vampires are creatures of legendary power. Most were Changed between two to four millennia ago, making some archons and the rest the elder portion of the venebrate population. Their strength allows them to swat aside mortal armies with ease. The Sixth Generation Mostly born within the millennium after Christ, the majority of the sixth generation are between nine centuries and two thousand years old. The Seventh Generation The seventh generation are the last to have venebrate members, mostly being between seven and eleven centuries of age. The Eighth Generation Generally between five and eight centuries of age, the eighth generation make up the majority of the power brokers within the Old World during modern nights. The Ninth Generation Three to six centuries old for the most part, the ninth generation makes up the younger portion of maiori, with many having traveled to the mostly vampire free Americas in order to become the dominant powers of the New World. The Tenth Generation Typically being two to four centuries old, the majority of the tenth generation were mostly created in the eras of colonization, and make up the bottom rungs of maiori and the top echelons of dolescii. The Eleventh Generation The Twelfth Generation Thirteenth Generation Fourteenth Generation Fifteenth Generation Powers and Abilities Basic Powers Without the usage of the power within their blood to access the special abilities known as praxises, vampires all possess certain common abilities. Eidetic Memory: Vampires have perfect memories, and can recall all thoughts and sensations they have experienced throughout their undead existence. Super Durability: Vampires are far tougher than any creatures among the living. They are able to effortlessly shrug of cuts, stabs, and bullets, with even the weakest of them being unfazed by gunshots to the head. It truly takes enormous amounts of punishment to incapacitate or kill them. If they sustain sufficient damage, they will lapse into slumber to better allow them to recover. * Pain Resistance: Vampires are highly resistant to normal causes of pain, such as by being stabbed or bludgeoned. Very few things can cause severe pain to a vampire, but they do exist, such as fire, sunlight, or attacks from other supernatural beings. Enhanced Senses: Vampires possess senses far more advanced than they did in life. Their hearing, smell, and sense of touch is comparable to those of predatory beasts. * Night Vision: Vampires, being solely nocturnal creatures, possess the ability to see clearly in darkness. Enhanced Speed: Vampires are able to move and react more quickly than ordinary humans, being able to sprint faster than the finest of human athletes. Most can move at speeds up to thirty miles per hour. * Enhanced Reflexes: Vampires are able to react more quickly to stimuli than humans, enabling them to dodge a variety of attacks that most mortals would be unable to. Enhanced Stamina: Vampires do not suffer fatigue the way mortals do, through the building of fatigue toxins. Instead, they only begin to tire through the expenditure of blood. Enhanced Strength: The magic within a vampire's blood propels their strength to the peak of human efficiency, and then further beyond. Even the smallest and frailest of vampires are possessed of fearsome vigor that enables them to beat down mortals with little difficulty. Regeneration: Vampires are able to recover from injuries at rates far faster than any natural creature. Depending on their power and how well fed they are, injuries that would kill any mortal can be erased from their bodies in hours, minutes, or even seconds. Entire organs and even limbs can be regrown, while bullets and cuts are trivial matters that can be easily ignored. Praxises Through the manipulation of the magic within their blood, vampires can be trained to utilize a variety of magical powers known as praxises. Depending on their bloodline, they may possess innate proficiency in certain praxises. Aura The Aura praxis enables users to project certain feelings to those around them, causing their presence to instill emotions of their choosing. With it, crowds can be made to fawn over the user in admiration, enemies forced to flee in terror, or individuals charmed to try and carry out actions to please the wielder. Brallatis Brallatis enables vampires to probe thoughts and send telepathic messages. Its most basic levels enable users, through physical contact, read the current thoughts of a victim, or mentally communicate with them. More skilled users can probe a users memories, and alter and fabricate new ones, and have telepathic conversations over vast distances. Climarex The ability to control weather phenomena, Climarex gives users command at of the elements. Low level users can shroud themselves in mists or summon fog with more training. In addition, more powerful users are able to summon winds, create cloud cover, and instill precipitation. True masters are able to call bolts of lightning or summon monstrously powerful storms, and can utilize wind to toss objects about. Constancie The praxis of constancy enables vampires to harden their bodies against harm and increase their already considerable resistance to pain. Users can strengthen their flesh, turning what a blow that might strike their head from their shoulders into a mere cut. Furthermore, the Constancie praxis can be used at higher levels to increase a vampire's resistant to magic and their weaknesses, enabling them to for example survive for brief instances in the sun. Diabolism Diabolism, also commonly known as necromancy, is an ability that gives users power over the dead. It allows users to communicate with, and even control dead spirits. More potent users can pull small bits of spiritual essence from beyond the grave to animate corpses, or temporarily detach their spirits from their bodies for spiritual travel. True masters are even capable of bringing the dead back to life, and reform their own bodies (albeit in a severely weakened state) if their forms are destroyed. Discenation The praxis of Discenation allows vampires to extend their already considerable senses to truly mythical proportions. With it, masters can spot flies from miles away, or detect the air disturbance caused by the movement of a blade of grass. Korpulessence One of the most feared praxises, Korpulessence is the art of shaping flesh and bone to ones will. With it, users can mold someone's features like clay, graft on limbs, or twist animals into horrific monstrosities. Users can turn it upon themselves as well, altering their appearance to suit their needs and whims, transforming themselves into inhumanely beautiful figures, or monstrous freaks as they choose. Mesmer Mesmer is an ability that allows vampires to take control of the minds of other beings. It allows them to wipe memories and convince victims of different realities, and force them to follow the commands of the user. Masters can utterly take control of a person, so that they can take no actions unless the user wills it. Mystria Mystria is the ability which enables vampires to generate force and move objects with their minds. At its most basic level, Mystria can be used to generate weak forces which push in a general direction, and with training, learn to move objects with precision and be able to generate more power. Skilled users often use this praxis to float and levitate, whilst masters can achieve full on flight. Natomacy Natomacy is the art of transforming ones own body in order to gain animalistic features, or transform fully into a beast. Unlike Korpulessence, Natomancy can only be used on oneself, and cannot be used to simply shape a body into whatever form they desire, but rather to simply add on animalistic traits to their bodies, such as claws or armor plates. Higher level users can transform themselves into animals, with the transformation becoming more difficult to accomplish the less related the creature is to humans. Obscurus The praxis of Obscurus allows wielders to command darkness and shadows. With it, they can obscure light and smother a room in darkness, and form shadows into constructs held in shape by their own will. The mightiest of users can even transform themselves into incorporeal masses of shadow, melding into darkness and enabling them to pass through solid objects. Proceus Proceus gives vampires the ability to communicate with and control beasts and animals. Its most basic utilization allows users to express feelings with animals of sufficient intelligence, while more skilled users can take command over nearby animals and perceive what they do. Masters can control swarms of beasts at a time, and even utilize more praxises, such as Bratallis or Mesmer, through an animal under their command. Robustes One of the most widely practiced of all praxises, Robustes endows users with unnatural levels of physical strength. With it, they can toss grown men like dolls, shatter chains, or tear mighty beasts asunder with their bare hands. Sanguinism A feared and respected praxis, Sanguinism gives its users the power to manipulate blood for a variety of purposes. At allows users to control the blood in their own bodies as well as that of others, allowing them to accelerate or slow healing processes, or cause muscles to seize up. Competent users can pull blood from the bodies of victims to form blood constructs, and masters are able to make victims explode, or levitate their bodies by manipulating the blood within them. Synogen Synogen is an ability that allows users to alter the perceptions of those around them, creating false sensations in beings within their proximity. Users can make victims see false images, hear false sounds, and smell false smells. It is often used to make people see them as someone else, by altering the look of facial features and other body parts. Master level users can instill extreme pain or create illusory scenes in the minds of victims. Velocitude Velocitude gifts users of it with blinding speed, enabling them to move far faster than any mere mortal. It can be used both to allow one to travel with extreme swiftness and enhance reflexes and combat speed, enabling users to deliver devastating attacks and dodge all manner of blows and projectiles. Weaknesses Common Weaknesses All vampires, regardless of clan, share several common weaknesses. Decapitation: All but the most mighty of vampires will suffer immediate death if their head is removed. Sunlight: Sunlight is the most dangerous weakness a vampire possesses. The touch of sunlight causes burning and corrosion to a vampire's body, and prolonged exposure is almost always fatal. Curiously, whilst more powerful vampires are typically resistant to other weaknesses, sunlight affects more potent and pureblooded vampires even more. The weaker one's lineage, the more sunlight it takes to cause damage. Certain vampires of extremely impure blood, lacking in the standard vampiric abilities, are even able to withstand sunlight without ill effects. Fire: Fire, unlike most other forms of damage, causes far more pain to vampires. Whilst bullets, blades, and bludgeoning can be shrugged off, fire most often elicits animalistic shrieks from vampires, causing them the same pain as it would a human. Whilst being set ablaze would not kill most vampires, wounds dealt by fire take the longest to heal. However, being truly burned to a crisp would result in their death. Wood: While not fatal to vampires, wounds inflicted by wood, like fire, are much slower to heal. They are also capable of eliciting human amounts of pain, and furthermore, if a sufficient amount of wood is lodged in their heart, they will suffer paralysis until it is removed.Category:Races